South African Tanker Explosion Kills 18 on Christmas Eve

A gas tanker exploded in Johannesburg, South Africa on Christmas Eve, blowing the roof off a nearby hospital and causing injuries hundreds of yards away. On Tuesday, the death toll from the blast was raised to 18, half of them staff and patients at the badly damaged Tambo Memorial Hospital.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that patients at the hospital were also among the dead, some of them children.

“The nation’s hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating incident,” Ramaphosa said.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla warned on Sunday the death toll from the explosion was likely to rise as victims succumbed to their injuries. 

“We are told that of those who survived, many of them have quite severe burns, so we still have a long way to go,” he said.

The driver of the gas tanker was, remarkably, not among the dead. Johannesburg officials said on Sunday he has been arrested and charged with culpable homicide.

The explosion occurred after the tanker truck, which was passing through the Johannesburg suburb of Boksburg on its way to deliver fuel to Tambo Memorial Hospital, became stuck under a low overpass. The top of the truck scraped the bottom of the bridge and threw sparks, which caused the truck to catch on fire, eventually detonating its cargo of liquified petroleum gas.

The explosion was powerful enough to tear the roof from the nearby hospital’s emergency department, destroy two houses, wreck several vehicles, and shower flaming debris across a half-kilometer radius. Phaahla said the hospital’s emergency unit and X-ray department were severely damaged. 

Eyewitnesses described being flung several feet through the air by the blast wave. Those who survived described dismembered and decapitated victims scattered on the street, some with their clothing melted into their bodies from the intense heat. 

South African highway officials said they were investigating whether the bridge was not properly marked with height restrictions, or if the driver did not see the warnings. They are also investigating why the trucker chose to drive along local roads in Boksburg instead of staying on the highway.

The officials said the driver called for emergency assistance when he realized his truck was on fire. Firefighters who responded quickly to the call were among the wounded, along with numerous bystanders who had assembled to watch them deal with the burning tanker.

“The 32-year-old suspect has been charged with multiple counts of culpable homicide, [and] negligent causing of an explosion resulting in death,” said provincial police on Sunday, referring to the driver.